The Road Back to Home
by liz12910
Summary: A high school gang member and an English teacher head overseas to escape their problems back in America. Little did they know that no matter where you go, trouble finds you. A Mori x OC and Honey x OC story.
1. Chapter 1

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) - Yakazawa District Wednesday, March 30th**

The pounding of my heart propelled me forward as I ran down the street. Behind me, I could hear the echoes of gunshots. I kept going until I spotted a familiar patch of orange hair. "Hiro!" I shouted, getting his attention. He waved with one hand, his other kept its steady grip on his gun.

"You ready to go?" he questioned.

"Whenever you are," I puffed. He smirked and took off at a sprint down an alley. I followed after him trying to not lose too much steam. I could only keep running for so long before the fatigue became too much.

When we eventually were at the foot of Hiro's car I let out a sigh of relief. I grabbed the keys from my front pocket and climbed inside. I immediately put the key in the ignition and felt it come to life under my fingertips. I clipped my seatbelt on and impatiently drummed my fingers on the wheel while Hiro rolled his eyes and did the same. "You're such a mom sometimes," he grumbled when he finished.

I immediately stepped on the gas and then the brakes to make the car lurch forward violently. I braced myself while he wildly grabbed to the side of the car.

"That's why I make you clip your seatbelt dumbass," I hummed while pulling away.

"Just shut up and fucking drive," he growled in response.

"Fine asswipe," I chirped back. I looked in the mirror and frowned. A black car was following us. I changed lanes suddenly and it copied my actions. I did it again, earning a honk from nearby cars but ignored it. The car again mirrored my movements.

"I take it we have company?" Hiro asked pulling out the briefcase we had in the backseat.

"Use the yellow smoke bombs," I ordered. "It'll stun them long enough for us to get away and won't cause too much of an accident."

"You got it," he answered. I sped up to get away from the general traffic. A small smile graced my lips as I saw a sharp curve ahead. I let myself augment my speed again and the car followed.

"Now!" I shouted as I stepped on the brakes. I heard the boom before I could see it behind us in the rearview mirrors. The car was nowhere in sight as we pulled out of the curve.

"I think we lost them," Hiro remarked. I looked at my mirrors and checked my blind spots before nodding my head.

"I think so too," I agreed. I connected my phone to the car's radio and turned up the music so that it would blast at full volume. Hiro whooped as the bass vibrated through the entire car. I let myself laugh a little while coming to a stop at a light.

My eyes glazed over the streets. I remembered how crowded and loud Los Angeles was in comparison to here. There were people dressed in all kinds of fashion and taste. Many had big dreams and hopes, while others were disappointed with their lot in life.

Here people were like paper doll cutouts. When I saw the small suburb that was going to be my home when I first arrived in Japan, I knew that this place wasn't ever going to be my home.

I wanted to run back home to LA but that wouldn't happen as long as I lived.

**Marianna Lorena - Yakazawa District Wednesday, March 30th**

I looked at my new apartment in awe. It was quite cramped and small but it was actually mine. I took a deep breath and looked down at my hands. Even though I was a whole ocean away from America, I still felt a small wedge of paranoia. It was silly though. I was safe here.

"Where should I put this box?" Kagame-san asked.

"Oh you can leave it on the couch if you like," I answered him. He smiled and nodded, placing it down.

"Will you need any more assistance?"

"I can handle the rest on my own," I reassured him.

"Then I shall see you tomorrow at Ouran Academy. I left you a map of how to arrive. It takes 30 minutes walking and 10 minutes by train," he recited. "We will be having an all day staff-training that will start promptly at 8 am."

"Thank you," I smiled. He bowed and I returned the gesture a little awkwardly. It felt odd to bow frequently but I suppose I would have to get used to it. When the door closed behind him, I let out a sigh. It would take a long time to get unpacked and get this place cleaned up.

I pulled out my phone charger and connected my small device to it on the kitchen counter. I played some music before I began to hum to myself as I started putting my clothes away. The majority of my clothes were business casual or formal so I made sure to carefully hang them. I didn't have an iron so I would have to be careful to not wrinkle my clothes.

My phone buzzed and I looked down at the caller I.D. I bit my lip and contemplated whether or not I should answer before deciding to ignore it.

The music continued to play so I let myself fall back into the rhythm of the next song. I unpacked my laptop and scrolled through my email. There was a long list of unanswered emails and I ignored those too. Why didn't anyone understand that I just wanted to disappear? There was nothing else to it.

I cracked my neck and looked down at one of the boxes I left untouched. I spotted an old photo album. Slowly, my finger brushed through the first few pages before my hands violently threw it back in the box. The box was taped again and shoved to the side of my closet.

I shut off my music and grabbed my apartment key. I opened the front door and stepped outside. There had to be a park somewhere around here where I could just sit and think for a few moments. Anything was better than staying in the apartment which now felt suffocatingly small.

I looked around the different houses around the neighborhood. They were quite pretty and quaint in their own way. Bits and pieces of Japanese floated through my ears and easily slipped through as well. I tried to make myself as small as possible by stuffing my hands deep in my pockets and shoving my neck further into my coat.

After crossing the street I spotted a small little park. There was a swing set, a slide, and a small bench. I sat down and watched as a couple played with their two children. I closed my eyes. "I need to stop thinking about **him,**" I grumbled to myself quietly.

Out of the blue, I spotted something odd. It was a little boy with a tall high schooler. The boy carried around a stuffed rabbit in his arms. He was talking very animatedly with a very cute voice. I let a small smile grace my lips as I watched the boy. It reminded me of some of my favorite students back home. I frowned and shook my head. I had to stop thinking about home. I wanted to run far away from home, yet here I was making a poor attempt to distract myself.

I looked at the boy once more and looked away when he made eye contact with me. My eyes turned to the sunset which painted the sky a deep red. It was weird how no matter where you go, sunrises and sunsets somehow look the same.


	2. Chapter 2

**Marianna Lorena - Thursday, March 31st**

_"No one will ever love you like me," the voice told me. _

_ "Please let me out," I pleaded, banging on the door. I let out a scream of terror as the voice simply laughed. "Please! I promise I'll be good. I won't leave you."_

_ "Why would you ever want to leave me?" the voice questioned. "You have everything you need here. Nothing will hurt you here." I shook my head kicking at the door._

_ "I need to go outside! Please let me out!"_

I jolted upright before sighing. I slowly peeled the blankets off of me, taking the time to rub my eyes and adjust to the sun that was beginning to seep into the apartment. I robotically moved towards my closet and pulled out a shirt and skirt for the day, along with some black tights. My feet carried me to the bathroom where I turned on the bath water. I let my hair fall over my head and craned my neck under the water. Once my hair was fairly wet I grabbed a towel and wrapped my hair in it. I immediately stood and slipped on my clothes.

Then, I scampered into the kitchen and made myself a lazy breakfast of toast with no butter. Well, there was no butter because I couldn't work up the courage to shop at my local supermarket. I felt self-conscious about speaking with strangers in English, so you can imagine how much stronger that fear was for me to be heard speaking Japanese. Japanese was my third language and not one I had been studying for very long on top of that.

I shook the thought away and finished the last bite of my toast. I grabbed my hairbrush and tugged roughly on the tangles. Once it was combed, I put it in a braid and slipped on my coat and shoes. I grabbed my bag and keys and left my apartment. I watched as a few of my neighbors were leaving as well. They glanced at me for a few seconds longer than usual before heading about their day.

I pulled out the map Kagame-san had given me yesterday afternoon. I looked down at his instructions for boarding the train versus walking and decided to walk. Even though it was silly, I could remember watching videos about how Japanese trains were always crammed full of people. It probably wouldn't be the case in the Yakazawa District because it was much smaller than any normal city but the thought of being around so many people unnerved me.

And so I began the 30-minute walk to Ouran. There wasn't a need for me to rush since I was still going to be there at least 20 minutes early at this pace. The park I found yesterday was on my route. I glanced over the bench and remembered the couple and the little blonde boy I watched. I wondered briefly about what my future children might be like. I hoped they'd be free and happy. I imagined two children playing on the playground structure I passed by before shaking the thought away.

I saw Kagame-san suddenly and squinted my eyes to double check. When he saw me he waved enthusiastically. I returned the gesture but internally groaned. "Lorena-san, good morning," he greeted me warmly.

"Good morning Kagame-san," I answered in kind. He gave me a radiant grin.

"Suoh-san sent me to escort you to Ouran this morning," he informed me.

"Oh I see," I nodded feeling annoyed. I would have preferred to have gotten lost by myself than deal with a babysitter.

"How are you liking your apartment so far?" he questioned.

"Oh it's very nice," I answered, giving him a cheery smile. My cheeks began to ache from all the smiling.

"Wonderful!" he gushed. "So how today will go is we're going to have a whole faculty meeting for about an hour with Chairman Suoh. After, we'll split into elementary, junior high and high school. You will be meeting the homeroom teachers for the 3rd to 5th graders and working with them on your lesson plans for the first two weeks of school."

"When are we getting our work schedules finalized?" I asked him.

"We should be getting the timetables tomorrow," he told me. "Usually the Elementary English Teachers work in the morning and then the High School and Junior High Teachers work in the afternoons."

"I see."

"You will have lunch and then you come back after school to finish grading or attend more faculty training or meetings," he added.

"Okay," I nodded my head again.

"The teachers all have lots of fun," he began. "You are the youngest person we've ever hired to help teach at Ouran Academy. Where did you work before?"

"I worked at an elementary school as an aid, and I also worked part-time as an ESL Teacher for kids," I answered. "Before that, I worked in afterschool programs."

"And you got very good grades in college right?" he inquired.

"Yes, they were pretty good," I shrugged trying to be humble.

"Chairman Suoh says he observed you in the classroom and took a look at your transcripts and was very impressed." I blushed at the comment.

"I'm glad he gave me the opportunity to come and teach here, I hope to learn a lot of things before I finish getting my degree and credential," I responded. Kagame-san let the conversation die after I spoke which relieved me.

I wanted some time to privately digest the fact that I would be having to get through a faculty meeting in Japanese. I worried about not understanding things fully, making a silly mistake. Or worse yet, not having good lessons when the kids started school next Monday.

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) Wednesday, March 30th**

When we pulled into the auto shop I glanced over at Hiro as he raced out of the car whooping and hollering. "You get the haul?" Big G asked calmly. His big brown arms were crossed and his eyebrow was raised. Hiro practically bounced off the walls as he exhibited what we had collected for all to see.

"Damn right we got it," Hiro answered at last. Big G just nodded, not showing any trace of a smile. I sighed and rubbed my chin, waiting for the others to arrive.

"Scar's back," a deep voice stated.

I eyed Silver and Knuckles warily before acknowledging them. "Yes, I'm back alright."

"You have the gun?" Silver questioned. I showed it to him promptly, purposefully letting it loosely face in his direction.

"When are you taking it back?" I asked him with raised brows. "The last thing I need right now is to be accused of a murder I didn't commit."

"Don't be like that Scar," Knuckles jumped in. I rolled my eyes as he tried to grab my shoulders and give them a massage. "We're just asking you to hold onto it for temporary safe keeping."

"Safe keeping my ass," I scoffed pulling away from him.

"What's this all about?" Big G interrupted. Silver narrowed his eyes at me in warning.

"Nothing," I yawned. "Just talking about some of my new inventions."

"Hmm," he hummed before turning back to listen to Hiro brag. Knuckles joined in the conversation but Silver pointedly stayed quiet. I could feel his eyes peer at me every once in awhile. I did my best to act as though I was unaware of his staring. Hiro continued to chatter on and on. Other than Big G, everyone seemed to tune him out. Quite frankly, that's what happened most of the time. No one was ever quite interested in Hiro.

"And that's how Scar and I managed to escape," Hiro chirped.

"Well let's get back to work," Big G responded. He placed a wrench in Hiro's hands. "Scar help him change out the tires of the car we got out back. We'll be needing it for tomorrow."

"Aww come on," Hiro whined before I could answer. "Why don't you ever let us help fix the nicer cars." Knuckles grabbed Hiro roughly and shoved him against the wall.

"I wouldn't get too cocky fresh blood," Knuckles barked. "We all earn our way up."

"Get the fuck off me," Hiro hissed in irritation. Knuckles laughed and gave him a kick in the shin. Hiro howled out in pain and I simply sighed.

"Let's go, Hiro," I told him in a resigned tone. If Hiro would ever learn to shut up and not be such a coward, Big G would probably let him work on any car he wanted, or so I'd like to think. Big G was always very firm and sometimes I couldn't fathom what he was scheming. It's why he was so respected in Kalyuga.

Hiro grabbed some tools and passed them to me. I held onto them gingerly. I looked towards the door of the shop and saw a slutty looking woman with a short dress and high heels. Her face was caked with make-up.

"Can I help you?" I asked her skeptically.

"Im looking for Hiro," she answered. She narrowed her eyes at me slightly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) Thursday, March 31st**

I watched the smoke fly through the air. My mother's shouting didn't deter me from my sitting. "Oh for fuck's sake Suzume," my mother howled. "Would you please look at me at least!?"

"You're giving me a god damn headache," I growled.

"I'm fed up with all your crap," she hissed. "If you don't want me to punish you, you'd better be here tomorrow at 6 pm sharp."

"Punish me?" I laughed haughtily. "And how exactly are you going to do that? It's not like I care if you try and take anything away."

"All the junk you stole is going in the trash," she informed me. I shrugged my shoulders and started laughing again. She had another thing coming if she thought I gave a shit. "And…," she began.

"And I'm gonna go ahead and leave now," I interrupted. I threw my cigarette on the ground and stomped on it. My mother kept shouting at me in English but I kept my back to her as I walked down the steps of our apartment. It wasn't like she was going to be home soon anyways. She spent all of her time cleaning and practically never came home.

I made my way over to the shop. No one was there besides Big G. "You're here rather early Scar. Everything ok?" he asked me.

"Yeah I'm good," I lied. "I just wanted to help get some of these cars done." He nodded his head and continued to work on the Blue Mustang. I grabbed my tools and started working on a green Honda.

Doing mechanic work had a way of relaxing me when I was upset. I was grateful to be able to have somewhere to retreat to at a time like this. Big G let me work beside him that whole morning. I enjoyed it when it was just me and him working on the cars. We worked quietly and everything seemed to flow perfectly.

The peace I was feeling didn't last for very long as Silver arrived along with Knuckles. "Scar," Silver greeted me with a false smile.

"Silver," I repeated in kind. He chuckled and eyed the car I was working on.

"Shouldn't you be in school with Hiro right now?" he questioned loudly.

"School doesn't start until next week," I answered evenly. Our conversation was cut short thanks to Big G who walked over to us.

"Did y'all finish the job?" Big G asked them.

"It's all taken care of," Silver answered. I wished I could wipe his smirk off his face.

"Good," Big G answered. "Scar, why don't you work on those guns that need repairing and make some more grenades. You and Hiro will be doing an important job tomorrow."

"Yes, boss," I answered obediently. I moved over to the workstation that I had set up in the back of the shop. It was essentially my own private office. I pulled out Silver's gun from the safe and examined it carefully. I bit my lip before placing it back in the safe. There was lots of work to be done.

* * *

**Marianna Lorena - Ouran Academy Thursday, March 31st**

I sat down at the end of a table and watched as there was a projector being set up. Chairman Suoh was nowhere to be found. I swallowed nervously as I watched some of the other people whispering to each other about something or other.

The door opened with a huge bang and I nearly jumped from my seat. "Good morning everybody!" boomed a great voice in English. I blinked as the smiley Chairman entered the room. He was something else, to say the least. I had wondered quite frequently whether Chairman Suoh was actually an alien living amongst us. His care-free attitude was unfitting for someone in a position of leadership.

I shook away my thoughts as I realized that the meeting had already begun. The assistant of the chairman, Ms. Nakamura, welcomed us all and she was announcing the names of the new faculty members. I saw different men and women stand and bow to her when she called their names. "Lorena, Marianna," she announced at last. I stood up rather quickly and bowed at her. She gave me a small smile as she again welcomed me to the team. I nervously realized that I was the youngest person here. All the other teachers looked to be in their thirties or forties.

I plopped back into my seat as she finished introductions. When she finished Chairman Suoh took over by saying, "There have been some changes made in terms of what classes some of you will teach. Mishi-san and Lorena-san, you will be teaching an additional class at the high school level." I looked over to Mishi-san who seemed calm about the news and simply nodded. I followed her lead but I felt terrified at the notion.

"Are we required to also attend the faculty meetings at the high school level?" Mishi-san questioned.

"Yes, you both will be required. The staff meetings for elementary school teachers will be on Mondays, the meetings for middle schoolers will be on Thursdays, and the meetings for the high school will be on Wednesdays," Chairman Suoh explained. I started to drum my fingers against the table.

"And we will have all-staff faculty meetings on the third Tuesday of the month," Nakamura-san added.

"Now we'll split into groups. Elementary school teachers will be with Nakamura-san. Middle school teachers will follow Genji-san to the next room in one hour. High school teachers will be meeting in an hour and a half with me. If you teach multiple grade levels you must attend the meetings for all grades that you will be teaching. If you finish your meetings you can take a break until we all meet back here for lunch," Chairman Suoh announced. I got up from my chair and followed Nakamura-san and the other teachers to the other side of the room.

Nakamura-san began to set up the projector in the room. I sat down as I watched her set up her powerpoint presentation. Mishi-san was to my left and another teacher whose name I didn't know yet, was also there. I gulped and pulled out my stress ball from my purse. I began to squeeze it tightly and rapidly released. I repeated the motion about ten times before Nakamura began to speak. I stared at the screen blankly as she asked us to go around and introduce ourselves again. There were about ten of us in total which made sense to me as there were 6 teachers who taught K-5 plus three assistant teachers for the lower grades and then there was me who taught English.

I tried my hardest to remember everyone's names but it honestly flew past my head. After the introductions, Nakamura-san began to give us more information about what the next few days had in store for us. "On Monday morning we will be having a half-day to welcome the new kindergarten families. The other grades will start school on Tuesday. Lorena-san, Mishi-san, and Saito-san will be running mini-classes for the parents and students. Each of you will have a one-hour block with all the families. Tomorrow you will run your station with me as a practice. The rest of the teachers will be docents, guiding the families through the entire school and giving tours. The families can decide whether they want to tour or take a class."

"Tomorrow will we be able to enter our offices?" one of the male teachers asked her.

"The janitor will give us the keys around noon when they finish the cleanup of the school," she answered. "I expect all of you to be ready by Saturday evening. I will be coming around to do a final inspection on Sunday morning." I pursed my lips and sighed to myself. It seemed that I wasn't going to be getting any sleep with the amount of work I would have to do.

Nakamura-san went on to explain rules whenever we went out for yard duty. She also explained changes to the buildings that occurred over the summer. Through her speech, I found myself a bit lost considering I had yet to tour the entire school itself. I imagined that they'd take the time to give me a tour after the faculty meeting was over.

Once Nakamura-san ended the meeting I slumped in my chair slightly before Kagame-san came over to me and stopped right in front of my chair. "Hello Lorena-san," he greeted me.

"Hello Kagame-san," I returned in a polite voice. He gave me a large smile before opening his mouth.

"I'd like to introduce you to our colleague Mishi-san. She is a fellow elementary level teacher," he introduced.

"It's very nice to meet you Mishi-san, my name is Lorena Marianna," I shook her hand.

"Would you like a tour of the elementary building and high school building?" she inquired.

I smiled and said, "Yes, that would be lovely." She gestured for me to follow her. We walked out of the faculty building together and I was amazed when we got outside.

"I believe Kagame-san took you through the back entrance," she told me.

"Yeah, he did," I replied quietly. All around us were cherry blossom trees. The sweet light petals danced and dropped in the wind. I felt like I was swimming through an ocean of pink. The pink paint of the building matched perfectly with the scene. I had to hand it to Chairman Suoh, he certainly did a good job of designing the school.

"The elementary school is the smallest building on the campus. It's to the far right," Mishi-san explained. "The middle school building is in the middle and the high school building is to the far left."

"I see," I replied hurriedly. Mishi-san began to pick up the pace as she turned right at the fork in the road ahead of us. "What exactly do you teach Mishi-san?"

"I help students with special needs," she answered. "There aren't enough teachers to help with the high school students which is why I'll be teaching an additional class. The class will be towards helping the high school students have the skills necessary to navigate college and eventually have a job by the time they graduate. I believe Chairman Suoh wants me to have a cohort of students at the freshman level and I will follow them until they graduate."

"That sounds amazing," I gushed in awe.

"Thank you Lorena-san," she grinned. "You will be the new English teacher correct?"

"That's right," I confirmed.

"Chairman Suoh must have high hopes for you Lorena-san."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're so young and from overseas," she reasoned. "Chairman Suoh sometimes seems rather unserious and flamboyant, but that's not really the case. He always seems to know what is best for the school. Ouran Academy is one of the best schools in Japan."

"I'm really nervous about teaching here for that reason. I know that Ouran is a very prestigious school and I'm worried that my classes won't be up to par," I confessed.

"Don't worry Lorena-san," Mishi-san encouraged. "You were chosen because Chairman Suoh knows that you're the best person for the job." She then paused in front of a large dome-shaped building.  
"This is the elementary building." I looked at the structure in complete awe. For an elementary school, it was quite extravagant. "The whole school was remodeled about two years ago."

"Wow," I commented as she led me towards the school. I took in all of the rose bushes that we passed in amazement. Once inside the building, Mishi-san began to go through all the homeroom classes with me. The students were split by grade and academic level. She informed me that all grade levels at Ouran were split that way. Since the elementary school had the lowest number of students, there were only two homerooms per grade. It meant that each day of the week I would teach two sets of English classes for elementary students.

I glanced at the empty desks and quietly imagined them being filled with students. I swallowed and continued to follow Mishi-san. She gave me a thorough tour of the building before pulling me back outside again. She was now going to show me the high school building.

The high school was much larger than the elementary school. I tried not to gape at the campus. The school was at least twice as big as any regular high school in the U.S. It came equipped with its own botanical garden, swimming pool, dojo, and golf course. Mishi-san and I were walking through the garden when she checked her phone. "It seems we only have fifteen more minutes before the highschool meeting begins," she announced.

"That felt quick," I commented. "We'd better head back." Mishi-san agreed and led me back to where our faculty meeting was being held.

We hurried into our seats as Chairman Suoh entered the room. "Welcome high school staff," he greeted joyously. I blinked at the corniness of his tone. Just as Nakamura-san had, Chairman Suoh had us go around and introduce ourselves. I was relieved after I had finished my introduction. He then moved on to explain various procedures including the standard tsunami and fire drills. I took careful note of his words, knowing I may need to remember everything at a later date.

"The high school students will be starting on Monday. Elective classes will take place in the afternoon," Chairman Suoh informed us.

He then gave specific instructions to various teachers. When he got to Mishi-san, he told her she'd be in charge of a cohort of special needs students just as she had told me. I quietly wondered how she knew of her assignment before Suoh-san told her in the meeting.

"Lorena-san," Chairman Suoh addressed me.

"Yes?" I answered quickly.

"You will have only one homeroom per grade to teach as English is only offered to students in Homeroom A."

"I see," I responded. "But, why aren't the other students allowed to take English as an elective?" I noticed that the other teachers seemed to tense at my words and shot me incredulous looks. I nearly withered in my seat. Perhaps it was a really stupid idea to ask Chairman Suoh such a question.

He gave me a small smile. "We want the students who take the IELT or the TOEFL exam to be serious and committed about their work. Students in Homeroom A have proven since elementary school to have those qualities we look for when sending our students overseas. I'm entrusting those students with you." I nodded at his words.

Chairman Suoh moved on and I briefly glanced out of the window. I could see the entire high school building. I took a deep breath. I had to stop doubting myself and trust that I was supposed to be here.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) Yakazawa District Friday, April 1st**

"Deliver this to Snake," Big G told Hiro and me. I glanced at the briefcase before grabbing it.

"What is it?" Hiro asked.

"Just deliver it," Big G huffed.

"Going to see your future master huh Scar," Silver laughed. I gave him a glare, deciding not to verbally respond.

"Don't whip her too hard Hiro," Knuckles added.

"Fucking pig," I growled at Knuckles, giving him a kick in the shin. He howled in pain before trying to throw a punch my way. I dodged it and shoved him against the wall. "Try that again and I'll cut your dick off."

"One day Scar," Knuckles hissed. "You're going to regret acting all high and mighty."

"Yeah yeah," I huffed. "But today is not that day." I let him go and felt slight satisfaction.

I got into the car and waited for Hiro to get in the passenger seat. He held onto the briefcase and sighed. "Let's go," he hummed. I turned on some music using my phone.

I pulled out of the auto shop and followed the oh so familiar route to Snake's abode. Before long we were in the East Side of the Yakazawa District. The buildings were rugged and the low economic status of the area was apparent. I pulled into the driveway of Snake's personal home.

As soon as the car was in park, Hiro climbed out of the car. I followed after him and waited as he knocked on the door. It was opened by a girl in scanty clothes. "What is your business with the master?" she asked.

"We have a delivery," Hiro answered her. She was yanked out of the way and Snake appeared before us. He visibly towered over us both and wore a cheetah printed suit with dark pants.

"Scar, Hiro," he grinned. "Come in, come in." We took off our shoes and followed him inside. I watched a bruise form on the girl's arm as she scurried away. I forced myself to ignore it and follow after Snake. "It's been such a long time since I've seen you Scar, you never come and visit me like Hiro does."

"I've been busy," I deadpanned.

"You always say that," he whined playfully. I rolled my eyes as he led us into his office. There were various technical equipment related to film and production. I took a seat next to Hiro as he handed Snake the briefcase.

"What's in the briefcase?" Hiro asked him. I blinked at his question. Hiro was too bold for his own good.

"I'm afraid that's top-secret today my pretties," Snake hummed in delight. Another woman came into the office with tea and baked pastries. She placed them on the table and left.

"How much longer until we get to know all the good stuff," Hiro whined.

"You have how much longer until you graduate from school?" Snake asked him.

"I'm a senior now," Hiro responded.

"Well, assuming that things go smoothly, you should be able to work under me when you graduate," Snake told him.

"That would be awesome," he cheered.

"And I assume you'd rather stay with Big G," Snake remarked, addressing me.

I bit my lip and nodded. "I enjoy working with drugs and being on the front line against the Yama."

"You and Hiro both have gifts when it comes to the drug trade," Snake praised. "How much is your quota now? Nearly ten thousand American dollars?"

"It's risen yes," I acknowledged with a nod. Hiro gave me a small glance.

"You're the first female in Kalyuga to not be working with me...," Snake began. He eyed me up and down. "...which I sometimes think is such a pity."

"Big G wants us back early today," Hiro blurted out.

"Aww," Snake sighed. "I was so hoping to offer you some of the new girls." I clenched my fist as he snapped his fingers. About ten girls crammed into the office. They were completely naked and I saw Hiro's mouth twitch.

"I'm sorry Snake," I spoke up. "We don't have time."

"Ah well," he hummed with mirth. "Ta-ta my lovelies. Send Big G my love."

* * *

I was surprised to see my mother home today. She had an envelope in her hand. "Where have you been cabrona?" she hissed.

"Out," I responded vaguely.

"Your punishment has been decided," she told me in a calm voice. I raised a brow at her tone. Mother was rarely this calm and collected when we were fighting. I waited as she continued, "You're going to be attending Ouran Academy this next school year."

"What the fuck?" I seethed in rage. "That's where all the rich pricks go."

"That's where you're going now," she answered with a smirk.

"But why? It's not fair," I tried to reason.

"Because Sylvia," she began. "You joined that gang of yours through your school. I'm tired of you throwing the new life we made here away. It's time for you to leave that horrible street lifestyle behind and become responsible. Have you ever thought about college or what you want to do after high school?"

"And have you ever thought about how miserable I've been since we came to Japan? Of all the fucking countries in the world, you chose Japan. Why couldn't we have gone somewhere where people actually speak our language?"

"We've been through this a million times Sylvia," my mother started. "It was to protect you. Your father could easily find us if we went anywhere in North or South America and kill us."

"Dad would have protected us," I insisted.

"I wasn't going to wait for us to be slaughtered. He'd easily leave us for dead Sylvia," she sighed in frustration. "This envelope has your acceptance letter."

"Acceptance letter?" I mumbled.

"It's more of a courtesy letter since Suoh-sama is the one who got you in," she explained. My brow furrowed as I recalled the flamboyant Chairman.

"And I suppose that means Suoh's son will be there," I grumbled.

"Yes, he's agreed to show you around the campus," she informed me. I groaned in distaste.

"I've seen some of the uniforms that the girls wear and I refuse to wear that," I announced crossing my arms.

* * *

**Marianna Lorena Ouran Academy Friday, April 1st**

I went through the station in the conference room in front of Nakamura-san. She suggested that I include more hands-on activities to engage the parents more before dismissing me. Afterwards, she handed me the keys to my office and I walked towards the elementary building. I couldn't help but stare at the pink buildings in complete awe. The grandeur and decor of the buildings were just too much for me to accept.

When I entered the staff room I saw other teachers going over documents at their respective desks. I turned the key to the door of my desk. Upon entering I saw a small golden envelope on the desk. I put my bag down on the floor and opened the letter.

_You are invited to attend the 15th anniversary Ouran Academy Ball on Friday, April 8th._

I glanced further down and saw that the ball would be held at the Suoh mansion at promptly at 6 o'clock. I put the letter down at the side of my desk and pulled out my laptop. I started to work on my lesson plans for the first week of school.

After about an hour at my desk, a knock made me jump. "Sorry, Lorena-san." I looked up to see Mishi-san standing at the foot of my desk.

"It's okay Mishi-san," I told her with a smile.

"I'm going to go see Suoh-sama at the high school to get our keys to our office there," she informed me. "I wanted to know if you would come with me."

"Sure, I could use a break." I stood up and began putting away my laptop. Mishi-san stood at the door waiting patiently.

"I've heard some interesting gossip," Mishi-san gushed.

"Is it about the ball that Chairman Suoh is hosting?" I asked.

"No, although I'm very excited to go. I and two other teachers will be dress shopping on Monday after the staff meeting. You should join us."

"I'd love to," I smiled cheerfully. "Now what is the gossip you heard about?"

"There's word that Chairman Suoh is bringing a girl from Shinoto High School on scholarship."

"Shinoto?" I questioned. "Where is that?"

"It's a school in the Lower East Side of the Yakazawa District," she said.

"Yakazawa District? That's where I live. What's so special about it?" I asked.

"There has been a lot of gang activity recently. There are two main gangs in the area, Kalyuga, and the Yama," she explained. "Kalyuga is a gang made of foreign-born individuals while the Yama is exclusively Japanese born individuals. They have been battling over drugs. Students from Shinoto are notorious for being recruited into gangs. Three high school students passed away last December from a drug heist gone wrong."

"That's unfortunate," I lamented. "School should be about learning and spending time with friends."

"Yes, it is very sad," she hummed in agreement. "But I'm afraid that some of the parents won't take too kindly to there being a student from Shinoto here."

"Well, hopefully, Chairman Suoh won't be bullied into anything," I chimed. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"I won't be Lorena-san," a male voice responded. I jumped in surprise to see Chairman Suoh spring from behind a potted plant.

"Suoh-sama," Mishi-san bowed. I followed her lead and bowed as well.

"No need for all that," he waved us off. "I dropped the keys behind the plants and couldn't help but overhear the conversation you two were having." He held up two sets of keys and placed one in each of our hands.

"Thank you Chairman Suoh," Mishi-san said.

"T-thank you," I stuttered out.

"Lorena-san, Mishi-san." Chairman Suoh addressed us.

"Yes, sir?" I answered nervously for the both of us.

"Every high school teacher is responsible for one club. Mishi-san, you will be responsible for the Dark Magic Club. Lorena-san, you're going to be responsible for the Host Club this year."

"What exactly are we supposed to do for the clubs?" I questioned.

"You will host a meeting with the club members once a week about what activities they have planned and attend any outings as a chaperone," he told me.

"I see," I nodded in understanding.

"Excellent," he boomed in delight. He marched away in high spirits leaving Mishi-san and me alone in the hallway.

* * *

I went on a walk after work. I passed by the same park as before but decided to walk past it today. My stomach let out a cry of distress and I looked down at it. "I guess I should eat," I mumbled to myself. I began to glance at the businesses around me. Before too long I spotted a restaurant that was designed like an old American Diner.

As soon as I stepped inside a young woman in her twenties attended to me and sat me down at a booth. She passed me the menu before leaving. I eyed it for a short while and decided on my food rather quickly.

My eyes trailed around the diner and I saw that there weren't many customers. The floor had checkered tiles and the booths were lined with a plush red material. A shiny purple car that hung above the kitchen caught my eye as the waitress approached me again. "What can I get you to drink?" she asked.

"A coke please," I answered with a small smile.

"Okay," she nodded, writing down my order. "Do you already know what you'd like to eat or should I come back a little later?"

"I'm ready to order," I told her.

"Great, what can I get you?"

"I'll get a chili dog with cheese with a side of fries."

"Ok, I'll be back with your drink first." She took off towards the kitchen. I put my chin in my right hand and glanced at the doors of the restaurant. A tall boy with black spiked hair entered with a little blonde boy holding a stuffed bunny. I blinked and realized that it was the same two boys that I had seen at the park.

The waitress who served me began leading them to a table. They came closer and closer until they were about to pass me over. All of a sudden something pink and fluffy hit me on the head. I raised my arms up in surprise and realized that it was the stuffed bunny. "I'm so sorry," the little boy told me sweetly.

"It's okay," I told him earnestly. "Your bunny is very cute, what's his name?"

"Usa-chan," he chimed with a bright smile. I couldn't help but return the smile he gave me. He was really a cute kid.

"Be careful next time Usa-chan," I chided.

"He will," the boy assured me. They moved on to their respective table and my eyes couldn't help but keep glancing at the blonde boy. He was really adorable.

Before long my food was ready and I began to eat. I pulled out my phone and began to scroll through my Facebook feed. There wasn't anything too interesting as I liked a few photos here and there.

When I finished eating, I stood up to pay. I glanced over at the table where the little blonde boy was and saw that he was still eating. I smiled slightly to myself as I handed the waitress my credit card. "Have a good evening," she told me.

"Thank you, you too," I smiled. I stepped out of the restaurant and my phone immediately began to vibrate. I silenced my phone and put it away. I hoped to be ready for the first day of school.


	5. Chapter 5

**Marianna Lorena - Yakazawa District Monday, April 4th**

I lathered soap onto my hair and gently massaged my scalp. I closed my eyes and let the water spill onto my head and shoulders. I thought about the upcoming day and felt a sea of butterflies in my stomach. I gritted my teeth and used my hands to wring out my hair. I watched as the soapy bubbles went down the drain.

After a few more minutes of standing under the showerhead, I turned off the water and grabbed my towel from the rack. I dried off my legs first and then my torso. I wrapped my hair in the towel and began to change into a black dress with white polka dots. It reached my knees but I still put on black tights underneath to cover up my legs.

I moved towards the sink and began to comb my hair. I styled it into a simple rope braid. I smiled at the mirror before grabbing my perfume. I spritzed a small amount onto my wrists and on my neck. I took a deep breath and said, "You can do this. Everything will be fine."

My legs robotically carried me to the kitchen. I made myself a lazy breakfast of cereal. My appetite was completely gone but I forced myself to eat every bite.

When I finished, I went to my front door. I slipped on my boots and opened the door to my apartment. The cold air smacked my face and I shivered involuntarily. I reopened the door to my apartment and grabbed a warm cardigan from my closet. I went outside again and began to walk to Ouran Academy.

Having gone to the school every day since Thursday, I was beginning to familiarize myself with the route. I went over my presentation to myself as I walked, occasionally glancing at notecards I had made for myself. I wasn't going to be using the notecards while I talked so I had to make sure I got everything right.

* * *

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) - Yakazawa District/Ouran Academy Monday, April 4th**

"Is that really your uniform?" Hiro asked with a grin.

I scowled at him and nodded. "It's the most hideous piece of shit that I've ever seen." Hiro laughed as he opened the door for me. I entered his apartment and watched him trail off into the kitchen.

"I'll make some toast," he announced. I sighed and grabbed the yellow monstrosity off the hanger. I moved into the bathroom and began to change into it. The fabric of the dress was of very good quality to my surprise. It was also quite soft. I looked into the mirror and could hardly recognize myself. I looked quite dainty and feminine in the dress. It hid all my scars.

Turning off the bathroom light, I stepped back into the kitchen. Hiro had two slices of toast on a paper plate with butter beside it. I mutely grabbed the toast and began to eat. "Where's your mom?" Hiro asked me.

"She's working and staying at the Suoh mansion," I answered.

"When is she coming back?"

"Supposedly today but I heard that the Suoh's are going to host a party to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Ouran Academy so who knows really," I sighed. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Yeah that's fine," he replied. "Do you got clothes?"

"No, I gotta get it from home after school," I told him.

"Okay, I'm going to brush my teeth real quick and then I'll drive you to school."

"Okay," I responded watching him leave the kitchen. I continued to nibble on my toast and sighed to myself. A pit resided at the bottom of my stomach as I thought about my first day at Ouran. There was no way that I'd find the day enjoyable. Everyone was most likely going to be rich and entitled.

"Let's go," Hiro boomed. I stood up and followed him out the door. We walked down the steps of his apartment and got into his blue mustang.

"When is the initiation going to be?" I questioned.

"This Friday," he answered. "It's going to happen an hour after school."

"I see," I hummed. I glanced out the window as Hiro put on some music. The farther we got, the nicer the buildings became. Soon enough we were behind a line of limos.

"Is this shit pink?" Hiro blurted out. I squinted my eyes and leaned to the right to see out of the car.

"I think so… I've never actually seen Ouran before," I responded. We moved forward as the limo in front of us left.

"I'm so glad I don't have no god damn mama to send me to some punk ass school," Hiro told me. "I'll pick you up later and we can drop by your house to get your clothes."

"Sounds good," I nodded. "I'll see you later." I got out of the car and glanced around. There were other students getting out of their limousines. My mother had told me that Suoh Tamaki would be showing me around but she never told me where to meet him.

I followed the mass of students into one large central building. To my relief, I saw the "office" sign at the side of the building and headed that way. I stepped inside and saw a woman typing away on a computer. I approached the counter and waited for her to acknowledge me.

"How can I help you?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her computer.

"Do you happen to have a map of the campus?"

"They're right here," she said, gesturing to a series of pamphlets.

"Thank you." I grabbed it and left the office. I leaned against a column and opened up the map on the floor. I took out my class schedule and examined the map. My first class which was math was in classroom 2-A. The rest of my classes would be in 2-D. I took a deep breath and closed up the map. It was time to head to class.

When I got there, the teacher had me wait outside. I watched as the other students filed in. The bell rang eventually and when it did, the teacher opened the door. He gestured for me to enter. I stepped inside and everyone's gaze fell on me. I stood at the center of the room. "We're having a new student join us for this new school year. Please introduce yourself to your classmates."

"My name is Sanchez Suzume. It's a pleasure to meet you all," I bowed to them all.

"Welcome to Ouran. Does anyone have any questions for Sanchez to answer?" he asked them.

"Where are you from?" a male student asked raising his hand.

"I'm originally from a city called Los Angeles in the United States," I responded. "I moved to Japan two years ago."

"Do you have a boyfriend Sanchez-san?" one boy asked. I glanced at our sensei and saw his face turn into a stern frown.

"I think that's enough," he said dismissing me from the front. I breathed a sigh of relief as I moved to the back of the class to sit down.

"SORRY SENSEI!" a loud obnoxious voice yelled as the door to the classroom opened. I spotted a blonde boy followed by a dark-haired boy with glasses.

"Suoh, Otori, you're both late," the teacher stated dryly.

"It won't happen again Kagame-sensei," the dark-haired boy bowed.

"You can sit down Otori," Kagame-sensei told him.

"Uh… sensei?" Suoh stammered.

"Next time you're late I will give you detention. Being the son of the Chairman doesn't earn you any special favors in my class," Kagame-sensei warned. A small smirk worked its way up to my face. Kagame-sensei might just become my favorite teacher and not just because math is my best subject. Suoh nodded his head in shame and moved to sit with Otori.

* * *

**Marianna Lorena - Ouran Academy Monday, April 4th**

"How did your class go for the kindergarten parents?" Mishi-san asked me. She was with two other women that I vaguely remembered from the elementary staff meeting.

"It went well," I smiled. "I was worried about messing up but thankfully I remembered everything. How about you? Did all your tours go well?"

"Yes they did," she responded. "I'd like to introduce you to Aki-san and Seno-san."

"It's nice to meet you," I told both of them with a bow.

"Aki-san is one of the kindergarten teachers and Seno-san teaches fifth-graders," Mishi-san explained. "Lorena-san is an English teacher for elementary and high school students."

"How was your day Aki-san, Seno-san?" I inquired.

"Mine was good," Aki-san giggled. "I had a lot of worried parents about leaving their child alone at school."

"My day was also pretty good," Seno-san answered. "I ran tours and they all went well."

"How old are you Lorena-san? You look very young," Aki-san commented.

"I'm 21," I stated.

"Wow! Are you done with college yet?"

"No, not yet."

"So where are we going to be going shopping today? Nakamura-san said that the meeting will end at 4:00 pm. That gives us enough time to go to Tanjin shopping mall." Seno-san proposed.

"Tanjin mall sounds good," Mishi-san agreed. "Do any of you need a ride?"

"I do," I chimed.

"I have a car so I'm good," Aki-san announced. "Let's meet at the coffee shop on the West Side."

"Alright, Lorena-san and I need to head over to the high school campus so we'll see you later," Mishi-san excused us. I waved goodbye to Aki-san and Seno-san as Mishi-san led us away.

Just before we were leaving the elementary classes I saw a ragged Kagame-san run towards us. "Lorena-san, Mishi-san how did the kindergarten half-day go?" he asked us.

"It went well," Mishi-san answered for the both of us. I was relieved not to have to say anything to Kagame-san.

"Wonderful. Let me know if you need anything Lorena-san," he addressed me directly.

"I will," I replied. He waved at us and left us to leave the campus.

"Are you ready for your classes?" Mishi-san asked me once we started walking again.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I told her with a small smile. "I've never worked with high school students so I'm nervous."

"You'll do great," she reassured me.

"How about you Mishi-san? Are you ready to meet your new cohort of students?"

"I'm excited," she grinned. I was slightly jealous of her confidence. I was too nervous to feel excited.

As we reached the high school building, we went our separate ways. I went into classroom 3-A. The students were still finishing lunch and barely spared me much of a glance. I headed for the desk and set my laptop down. I opened it and pulled up my slideshow on the screen.

"Yay Takashi!" a shrill voice yelled. I cringed at how loud the voice was.

"Keep your voice down please," I immediately said in irritation. I glanced at the door and my jaw nearly dropped. It was the cute kid that I had seen at the diner on Friday.

"Sorry sensei," he apologized quickly. I blinked in confusion. There was no way he was in my class… but he was wearing the high school uniform and not the elementary one. I reached into my bag and started searching.

"What's your name?" I asked him without looking up from my bag. I pulled out a few sheets of paper that were stapled together.

"Haninozuka Mitsukuni," he answered. "But you can call me Honey." I ran my finger down the list and looked for the H's. _Haninozuka Mitsukuni Age 18 Class 3-A English_

I examined him carefully in utter disbelief. This boy was seriously 18 years old?

"Sensei," a deep voice said. I nearly jumped as I realized that Haninozuka's companion had addressed me. Unlike Haninozuka, he was quite tall and obviously looked like a high school student.

"Yes?" I responded. I flinched as I recognized him from the diner as well. It seemed that my two students frequented my neighborhood but that was odd considering that they were wealthy students. The Yakazawa District wasn't known to be safe from what Mishi-san had told me about the new student from Shinoto.

"Excuse Mitsukuni's behavior," he bowed.

"Not to worry," I smiled. "What's your name?"

"Morinozuka Takashi," he answered stoically. I glanced back down at my list. _Morinozuka Takashi Age 17 Class 3-A English_

"Well, Morinozuka, Haninozuka feel free to take a seat," I told them both. I noticed that Haninozuka had frowned a little and didn't move. I gave him an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry Honey, I forgot you don't want me to address you by your last name."

"Thank you for correcting yourself sensei," he grinned. I watched him bounce into a seat. The bell rang signaling the start of class.

"Good afternoon everyone," I greeted.

"Good afternoon sensei," everyone chimed. I gave everyone a smile and projected the slideshow I had made.

"My name is Lorena-sensei and I'm going to be your English teacher this year. I was born and raised in the United States," I introduced myself. A picture of the American flag was shown along with a photo of me during high school. "This year I'm going to be preparing you to take one of two exams, the TOEFL or the IELTS. It's up to you whether or not you wish to take the exam. If you wish to apply to an English speaking university outside of Japan it's highly recommended for you to take one of these two exams to prove your English proficiency. Additionally, some universities may require you to submit an essay. If you need to write an essay and want me to go over it, hand it in at least one month before it's due."

I went through the syllabus and the expectations for the class. Following this, I had the class take a quiz that I had created to see where the students level was at.

After Class 3-A I went to Class 2-A and finally to Class 1-A. They went pretty much the same; with me going over the syllabus, class expectations and giving the students a quiz. When the school day ended I headed back to the elementary school building. The elementary staff meeting was mostly just going over best practices for the first day of school for the elementary students. I didn't expect to have to meet many of the parents thankfully as English was just seen as a regular elective class at the elementary level.

Mishi-san waited for me with a light smile. "My car is in the back parking lot."

"Lead the way then Mishi-san." She led me through the elementary campus and I quietly admired all the sakura trees. They weren't quite in full bloom but a few of them were blossoming. I half-listened as she excitedly told me about her new cohort of students. She explained her curriculum in great detail and how she was planning to execute future lesson plans and activities.

"I think that one of my students can even make it into Kyoto University," she boasted. I sat down in the passenger seat and pondered that for a moment. I had to admire that Mishi-san already felt so confident and connected with her students.

"I think that with a teacher like you, your students will be able to get into any university that they put their mind to," I told her.

"You're too kind Lorena-san," she gushed in delight. We began to drive past Ouran now and I watched as the pink buildings morphed into local businesses and shops. "I also had a great conversation with the Bojinshi family. They are trying this new therapy for their autistic son and it seems to be going well." She launched into a long explanation of the different methods of treating autism and what methods she preferred to use in the classroom. I listened as attentively as I could, giving her my opinion and input as needed.

Before too long we made it to Tanjin mall. It was much larger than I had expected. I climbed out of the car and followed Mishi-san to the meetup location that Aki-san and Seno-san had agreed upon. "I think they might be here already…," she glanced at her phone. "Yeah, they are. They sent me a text while they were driving. I took the long route to the mall."

"Oh I see," I responded. We passed by a number of shops before finally reaching the coffee shop. I spotted Aki-san and Seno-san sitting down at a four-person table. They both waved at us.

"You guys finally made it," Aki-san commented as we drew nearer.

"It was all my fault," Mishi-san chuckled. "I took Seoul Road instead of Genshi." We all laughed at that. "I'll get us some coffee Lorena-san."

"Thanks," I nodded. I sat down next to Aki-san. Her long black hair was on the table. I looked at it before turning my attention to the conversation she and Seno-san were having.

"I put on five pounds over the summer," Seno-san whined. "I don't know if my dress size will be the same. You'd think taking care of the kids would help me lose some weight"

"Tell me about it," Aki-san sighed. They both took a sip of their drinks. I didn't have anything to say as I was quite comfortable with my figure and I had no kids to speak of. Mishi-san returned with my coffee. I thanked her and began to sip on my drink.

When all of us finished our drinks we stood up and headed back out into the shopping mall. We passed by an array of stores and restaurants. I couldn't help but feel fascinated by everything. I hadn't mustered up the courage to really explore anything far away from my apartment.

The clothing store that we went to was huge. There were lines of tuxedos and dresses. I gawked as the three women who came with me marched inside. "Pick some dresses and let's meet at the changing room in 10 minutes," Seno-san told us.

"Hai," we answered. I took off towards the back of the store and began to examine a few dresses. When I saw a dress that caught my eye I pulled it off the rack and into my hands.

By the time the ten minutes were up, I had 3 dresses in total. One was red, the other was silver, and the final one was black. I headed towards the changing room and spotted the trio waiting. "How many dresses did you pick?" Mishi-san asked me.

"Three," I replied.

"See Aki-san, three to four dresses is a reasonable amount," Mishi-san admonished.

"How many did you get Aki-san?" I questioned.

"Seven," she declared, flipping her hair. I sweatdropped.

"I see," I mumbled.

"Come on ladies, let's get that first dress on," Seno-san cheered. All four of us walked into a stall. The first dress I decided to try on was the black dress. It fit quite snugly against my body. I examined myself in the mirror and turned slightly to my right. My behind stood out a lot which made me laugh a little. I took a deep breath and stepped out.

I saw Aki-san in a pink ball gown dress, Seno-san in a blue mermaid dress and Mishi-san in a green cocktail dress. "Do any of you ladies think that this dress may be the one?" Seno-san asked.

"If none of the other ones look better then I'd say this one is decent," Aki-san mused. She glanced at her fingertips and then looked at the others.

"I second what Aki-san said," Mishi san chimed.

"Yeah, we still need to try on the others," I added.

We all went back into the changing rooms. I pulled out the red dress and slipped it on. It fit much more loosely than the previous dress. It had a ball gown like appearance but it wasn't completely a ball gown. The fabric was sheer which gave the dress a sexy appeal. I stepped out of the changing stall and smiled at the other women's dresses.

"I like that one on you," Mishi-san complimented me. Aki-san and Seno-san also gave me their approval on the dress. I twirled around once and laughed.

"Let's try another dress before deciding on this one," I announced. They agreed and we went back into the stalls. The final dress was the one with a silver bodice. The skirt was short at the front but long at the back. The skirt was decorated with flowers made of a light fabric. I couldn't help but examine myself in the mirror. It was a very cute dress and suited my style.

I marched out with confidence this time. The squeals of the others confirmed my thought. This dress was the one.

* * *

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) - Yakazawa District Monday, April 4th**

"How was it?" Hiro asked me.

"It was a real shit hole," I sighed in exasperation.

Hiro laughed as he pulled away from the pink buildings. "How were your classmates? Rich pricks?"

"Well apparently everyone in my class is of the lowest social standing at the school so some of them didn't have a huge ego," I admitted. "But for the most part, yes everyone does seem to be a rich prick."

"Figures," he hummed.

"I did really like my math teacher, Kagame-sensei," I added as an afterthought. "How was school at Shinoto?" I questioned when Hiro didn't respond to my comment.

"It was alright," he answered. "I was able to recruit a few freshmen to take part in the initiation on Friday."

"That's cool," I responded. "I don't think anyone from Ouran would be willing to take part." He burst out laughing at that.

"Yeah, I doubt it," he agreed. His hands moved and touched a couple of buttons of the radio system. Music came from the speakers and I danced along to the beat.

"Imma kill you bitch," I sang with the rapper in English. Hiro whooped and I laughed. He continued to drive until we pulled into the Yakazawa District again.

"We gotta get some gas," he announced, pulling into a gas station. I watched as he climbed out of the driver seat and went into the gas station. I observed a red pick up truck drive into the gas station. Two men got out of the car wearing purple hoodies. I tensed immediately and examined their sagging pants. I was still wearing the yellow banana of a uniform so I didn't need to worry but… _Hiro._

I opened the passenger door of the car and got out of the Mustang. One of the purple hoodied men went to the cashier's office. I reached for the knife in my purse and followed him. Hiro came out of the gas station and the man in the purple hoodie bumped his shoulder. "The fuck you looking at you son of a bitch!" the man shouted.

Hiro wasted no time in talking and punched the guy in the face. I ran towards them and joined Hiro in kicking the man. "You motherfuckers!" the other man yelled.

He tried to punch me but I dodged swiftly. I aimed a punch at his face and it landed squarely on his jaw. He flew backwards and I wasted no time in plunging my knife into his stomach. "Yama scum," I hissed as he crumpled onto the ground.

"Come on Scar let's go," Hiro pulled me along at a run. I followed after him and we threw ourselves into the car. Hiro floored it and we gradually grew farther and farther away from the gas station. The silence was unbearable for me at that point.

"Do you think a lot of people saw our faces?" I blurted out.

"I have no fucking idea Scar but your uniform might be what makes us stand out," he grunted. I clammed up immediately in shame. My uniform certainly did make me stand out like a sore thumb.

I looked down at my hands and saw that they were bloody. My fingers were firmly locked on the blade "Shit," I cussed. "I can't go into my apartment looking like I was in a horror film."

"I'll grab you some clothes, just stay put," Hiro told me. "We're going straight home and I'll call Big G and let him know that we ran into some trouble." I watched numbly as he left me in the car. I felt like a little girl being told to wait patiently. I groaned. It wasn't the first time I stabbed someone but something about this made me feel uneasy this time around.

Hiro opened the car door which startled me slightly. He threw a lump of clothes into the back seat and started the car. "Hey," Hiro said into the phone. "We got attacked by two Yama members at the gas station on 5th street… Scar was wearing her Ouran uniform… we stabbed one of them… Naw no cops came… Ok," I glanced at Hiro nervously.

"What'd he say?" I questioned.

"For us to lay low until the initiation. He's going to talk to Yinyin and Snake about what happened. Apparently Silver and Knuckles also had a run-in with Yama members today. They are trying to move into our turf again."

"Fuck," I breathed.

"Yeah… fuck," he agreed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) - Tuesday, April 5th**

I sat down and rubbed my eyes tiredly. I sipped on my water bottle which had some beer and glanced at the other students. Many of them had already formed groups and were talking amongst themselves. Being in class 2-D, I didn't really know many of the 2-A students especially since it was barely the second day of school. I missed my old school because while I didn't talk to anyone outside of Kalyuga, I at least knew everyone by name.

"Excuse me Sanchez-san," a boy said. There were four other guys surrounding him. They seemed to be egging him on.

I looked at him warily but responded with, "Yes?"

"You never answered my question from yesterday… Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked.

"It's none of your fucking business," I grumbled in annoyance. His face turned white as stone.

"Sorry," he mumbled out and scurried away. The four boys in his entourage followed him back to their seats. '_The fuck was that about anyway?'_ I thought to myself. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sanchez-hime?" another voice said while my eyes were still closed.

"What do you want?" I snapped, opening my eyes.

"I'm sorry that I didn't give you a tour of the school yesterday. I got to class late and didn't see you get introduced and you're in the back so I didn't notice that you were here," Suoh-san explained.

"Don't worry about it," I sighed dismissively. "I wasn't really expecting you to give me a tour."

"But princess," he interrupted me. He grabbed my hand and said, "I abandoned you and that is unpardonable." I clutched onto his hand with my full strength and pulled him towards me.

"If your dumb ass ever thinks to touch me again, I'll fuck you over so bad that your own god damn mama won't recognize who the fuck you are," I hissed.

He jumped away from me and rubbed his wrist. "How can a woman be so unfeminine!?" This attracted the looks of other females in the class.

"I think that is beside the point Tamaki," Otori-san intervened. "The next time you think to touch Tamaki or any of the student body here at Ouran in such a manner I will have you expelled for assault."

"I'm entitled to personal space you son of a bitch," I growled.

"Sanchez-hime," Suoh-san spoke up. "Your mother sacrificed a lot to get you into this school. It would be a shame to let that go to waste by getting into trouble with me or other students."

"Don't lecture me Suoh, I'm not a five year old. I don't need your help so fuck off and leave me the hell alone."

"As you wish," Otori responded dragging Suoh away. I rolled my eyes and watched them go back to their seats. The bell rang signaling the start of class. Kagame-sensei entered and started the lesson, much to my relief.

* * *

**Marianna Lorena - Ouran Academy Tuesday, April 5th**

My morning lessons were spent with kindergartners and first graders. There was lots of coloring, cutting and gluing as I decided to have them make puppets of animals as a way to ease them into learning new vocabulary.

It was lunchtime now and I decided to go to the teacher's lounge. My bento was simple, having rice and beans mixed together followed by scrambled eggs on the side. "Lorena-san," a cheerful voice greeted. I jumped in surprise, recognizing the voice as none other than Kagame-san.

"Hello Kagame-san," I greeted. "How was your day? You work with the high schoolers right?"

"Yes, I teach math. It went fairly well today. I think I'm going to recruit the new girl from Shinoto to join the International Math and Science Competition," he told me.

"Oh wow I see," I nodded in interest. "So she's talented in math then?"

"She got a perfect score on the pretest I handed out for the upcoming unit. And her previous work from Shinoto is also quite stellar which surprised me considering what the Chairman told us," he elaborated.

"Chairman Suoh talked with you about her?"

"He had a meeting with all the teachers who will teach her this year. He explained that she might need extra help with catching up on her studies but in math at least she should have no trouble. I've only seen the Otori family get scores as she does," he said.

"Hello Lorena-san, Kagame-san," a female voice greeted us both. A smile slipped onto my face as I saw Mishi-san. Aki-san and Seno-san followed behind her.

"Good afternoon Mishi-san, Aki-san, and Seno-san," I chimed. Seno-san and Aki-san waved and sat themselves down.

"So what are we discussing?" Seno-san questioned immediately.

"The new student from Shinoto," Kagame answered her. "She's been fantastic in my humble opinion."

"Did you guys see the latest news article on Facebook?"

"No, what's that got to do with the new student?"

"You guys haven't heard yet? There was a gang-related stabbing yesterday and apparently, there was a student from Ouran involved. The police haven't found any solid evidence but the two survivors of the stabbing say that it was a young boy and girl who attacked them and that the girl was wearing the Ouran uniform," Seno-san explained.

"I refuse to believe any student from Ouran had anything to do with it," Kagame-san said immediately. "It's probably just another news reporter trying to land their career on tabloid gossip."

"Well, I suspect that it was the girl from Shinoto," Aki-san declared with a slight amount of sass in her voice.

"I agree with Kagame-san on this one," Mishi-san commented. "It seems a little far fetched to believe that any student from Ouran would be capable of such a thing. The amount of scandal that would cause is too much for any student, especially the girl from Shinoto. Just imagine how much work her parents put in to get her here. I'd say she's the most dedicated student on campus probably."

"What do you think Lorena-san?" Aki-san asked me.

"I think that Kagame-san is likely the best judge. He is her teacher after all. All of us mostly work with elementary students," I reasoned. Everyone seemed satisfied with that answer.

"What are you doing here by the way Kagame-san?" Mishi-san laughed in realization.

"Me and the math teachers are having lunch together. We agreed to eat on the elementary campus because there is more space in the lounge," he grinned.

"Kagame! We've been looking for you," a female shouted for his attention. Kagame-san waved at them and bid us goodbye.

"Kagame-san is really outgoing and popular isn't he," I remarked once he was out of earshot.

"He gets around because Chairman Suoh likes to have him be in charge of managing the teachers when isn't around," Aki-san explained.

"Speaking of which, we never had a meeting with you right Lorena-san?" Seno-san inquired.

"The one with the third and fourth-grade teachers?"

"Yeah, Chairman Suoh wanted us to meet so that we could collaborate on making the lessons related to what the students are learning."

"I think Kagame had mentioned it but it had completely slipped my mind."

"I'll text Hamoto-san and Uyeda-san. Would today after school work for you? We don't have a meeting scheduled."

"That sounds perfect."

I glanced down at my phone and saw that it was 12:40 pm. I shot out of my seat and quickly put the lid on my bento box. "What's the rush Lorena-san?" Aki-san asked.

"I have to go to the library at the high school campus before my next class starts," I explained. I immediately hurried away from the lounge.

The librarian wasn't too pleased when I had arrived ten minutes before the next period would start. "You need to bring the cart back," she told me. "I need it before the bell rings. A class will be coming in here."

"Of course," I bowed. She turned her back on me and I quickly moved the cart down the hall. Upon reaching the classroom I opened the door and rapidly began to take out the books and put them on my desk.

With only five more minutes before the bell would ring, I raced down the halls back to the library. "Leave the cart there, I'll collect it in a moment."

"Thank you." She didn't respond as I speed-walked back to the classroom. By the time the bell rang all of my students in class 3-A were seated quietly. I tried my best not to blush in embarrassment at the fact that I was running late.

"Good afternoon everyone," I greeted them all.

"Good afternoon sensei," they chimed in return.

"Give me a few moments to set up and then we'll start class. You can chat quietly with your neighbor." The students began to chatter excitedly. I let out a sigh of relief and moved towards the pile of books on my desk. I grabbed a pile of five books and moved towards the shelves at the back of the class. I began to put the books inside the shelves.

"Sensei?" a voice asked.

"Yes?"

"Would you like some help putting the books away?" I looked up and saw that it was Haninozuka or Honey. His accent in English was adorable.

A smile graced my lips at his cute aura. "I would love some help." He moved towards my desk and grabbed a stack of books. I followed after him and grabbed another stack.

"How has your day been sensei?"

"It's gone well so far, how about you Honey?"

"It's gone great! I had lots of cake at lunch."

I laughed, "Did your parents bring you a special lunch today?"

"No, I always have it brought to the school for lunch." My eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh I see…"

We continued to put the books away in silence. After a few minutes we were all done and I was ready to begin class.

"Good afternoon everyone," I smiled at them all. They returned my greeting. "Today I took the liberty of ordering books in English from the library. I'm going to be designating twenty minutes of class time for you all to read books."

* * *

When the bell rang, I was surprised to see the Chairman standing by the door. He ducked and dodged students walking past him in a dramatic fashion. I bit back a laugh as he received odd looks every time he jumped into a new pose.

"Hello Chairman Suoh," I bowed once everyone in the class had left.

"Lorena-san," he smiled. "You're just the woman I wanted to see."

"What can I help you with?"

"It's related to the new student from Shinoto."

"Oh?"

"I'd like for you to be her mentor."

"Me? A m-mentor?" I stuttered out in shock.

"I know you have a lot on your plate already but Nakmura-san and I decided it would be best for Sanchez Suzume to have an adult role model in her life. Sanchez has been through a lot in her life, her mother disclosed the details to me in private. I have the information here in this file." He paused and handed me a manila folder. "Read through it and tell me your decision by next Monday."

"What would you want me to do as her mentor? In the United States mentors sometimes would do things like take a student out for ice cream or hiking and stuff. Sometimes it meant acting like a tutor to that student."

"Do whatever it takes to get that girl involved more at Ouran Academy. I trust you can do that. You both have a lot in common already." He left me with those words and a large smile on his face. I glanced down at the file and opened it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Marianna Lorena - Ouran Academy Friday, April 8th**

I entered Music Room 3 and saw a group of male students. I recognized the familiar short blonde-haired and tall spiked haired seniors in my English class. "Hello boys," I greeted with a smile.

I sat down at the head of the long dining table in the room. I couldn't see any musical instruments which was odd considering this was a music room. "Hello sensei," a boy with glasses told me.

"Are you the club president?" I asked him.

"No, I'm merely the vice president."

"Where is the club president then?"

"He's still in the cafeteria Lorena-sensei," Honey answered me.

I gave him a small smile and said, "I see, well let's get around to eating lunch and begin the meeting."

"Lorena-sensei," a ginger-haired boy spoke. I blinked and realized he had a twin.

"Your name sounds foreign. Where are you from?" the other ginger asked me.

"I'm originally from San Francisco," I responded with a tight-lipped smile. I opened my bento and began to eat the rice and hotdogs in it. "By the time lunch ends you guys need to have your activities for next week scheduled."

"Cake!" Honey shouted interrupting me. I raised a brow.

"The cake is already a given for the snack menu," the vice president said.

"Okay well, it sounds like you guys are planning on there being food which is a good start. What was your name again?"

"Ootori Kyoya, Lorena-sensei."

"Right Ootori, I'm going to write that down for myself." I pulled out my notebook from my bag and wrote his name down. "And what are your guy's names?"

"Hitachiin Hikaru," the first twin began.

"Hitachiin Kaoru," the second twin finished.

"Okay Hitachiin Hikaru and Kaoru," I said aloud while writing down their names. "And then I know Haninozuka Mitsukini aka 'Honey' and Morinozuka Takashi aka 'Mori'."

"That's right sensei," Honey smiled. "I'm the Lolita type!"

"Lo-lita ty-pe?" I repeated in English to myself.

"Every guest that comes in gets to designate a particular host. There's Honey who is the Lolita type, Mori who is the Wild Type, Hikaru and Kaoru are the Mischevious types, Tamaki is the Princely type and I'm the cool type," Ootori explained.

"Alright, so each of you has a particular persona that the girls get to choose from," I summarized. "So what ideas do you have for next week?"

"I would like to have standard club visits where we have guests sitting in chairs around tables in the room. On Wednesday we can have a viewing of the sakura trees," Ootori said.

"Sorry I'm late!" a loud voice yelled. I scrunched my eyes together in distaste.

"Who are you?" I asked the blonde-haired boy who sauntered into the room.

"I am Suoh Tamaki, my beloved princess," he sang. My eyes widened in surprise as he grabbed one of my hands and kissed it. I slapped his hand away.

"Tamaki-senpai," Kaoru began.

"She's our sensei," Hikaru finished with a smirk.

"I'm sorry sensei," he bowed blushing a deep shade of red. I rubbed my hand against the fabric of my skirt in disgust.

"So you're the son of the Chairman?"

"Yes…" I lamented this fact as I would have loved to give him a week's worth of detention for touching my hand.

"So we have a flower viewing of the sakura trees on the list of activities," I reviewed. "Any other ideas?"

"We should have a ball!" Suoh exclaimed.

"A ball?" one of the Hitachiin twins questioned.

"That's a lot of work to pull off boss," the other twin finished.

"It will be the perfect way to start the new school year."

"Who deals with finances?" I asked before Tamaki could get farther into his scheme.

"I do sensei," Ootori replied.

"And do you think you have enough money to be able to host a ball?"

"We have enough funds from last year that can be used."

"See, it's all coming into place," Suoh grinned.

"Yay!" Honey cheered. "We're going to have a ball!" The little blonde began to dance in circles around his chair. I sighed and looked at the Hitachiin twins who didn't seem too pleased.

"Is this really okay sensei?" Hikaru asked.

"Well if you all have the funds and can organize it in time, I see no qualms with it. I won't be supervising any of it as I'm only required to be at club field trips held outside of school grounds."

"It makes no difference to her then," I heard Kaoru mutter under his breath.

"Thank you sensei," Suoh beamed in delight.

I ignored his comment and looked to Ootori. "Today I filled out the Activity Form for you. Next meeting I expect one of the club officers to fill it out. Remember to send me your financial report for the month by April 30th."

"Yes, Lorena-sensei."

"So next up is recruitment."

"Recruitment?" Suoh questioned.

"Your club needs to have at least three new members this year in order to be considered a club. Chairman Suoh wants to ensure that clubs don't become exclusive only to upperclassmen," I explained.

"We only have two new members so far," Honey giggled. "Hika-chan and Kao-chan."

"That's ⅔ of the way done then. All you need is one more new member."

"It's not so simple. Not just anyone can be a host Lorena-sensei," Suoh began. "It takes someone of true beauty and character to be able to entertain women."

"Well then, you'd better look far and wide to find another host," I deadpanned.

"We'll be sure to find someone else to join the club," Ootori reassured me.

"Well that's all we have on the agenda for now," I smiled realizing that we still had fifteen minutes left of lunch.

"Do you need help with anything before class starts Lorena-sensei?" Honey asked me. I glanced at him and his stuffed bunny carefully.

"No thank you Honey," I ruffled his hair. "I have some important documents from Chairman Suoh to look over." I packed up my bento hurriedly, not noticing the disappointed look on the small senior's face.

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) - Yakazawa District Friday, April 8th**

"What's your name kid?" Big G questioned.

"It's Eli," the tiny freshman answered.

"Alright, Eli you want to work in the drug trade, prostitution or go into running a business?" Yinyin asked.

"Choose wisely honey," Snake grinned in delight.

"P-prositution," Eli stuttered out.

"Beat him in boys!" Yinyin cheered out. I ran forward in delight and grabbed Eli's arm. He grunted and I elbowed him in the jaw. Hiro kicked him in the stomach while other Kalyuga gang members began to take their turn with him. In just a single minute, Eli was on the ground holding onto his neck and head for dear life. I stomped on his body with all my force and gave a groan when Big G blew the whistle.

"Welcome to Kalyuga Eli," Snake said. He plucked the boy off the ground and patted his shoulders. Snake took almost all the new members that came to initiation today which was no surprise. Big G gained three new soldiers which was good for him.

Music began to play at the pool area and I numbly followed Hiro and the rest of the crew out there. Three girls in bikinis started handing out beer to everyone. I took mine mutely and sat down on a beach chair. "Why you being such a sour puss Scar?" Hiro asked.

"I'm not," I huffed. "I'm just bored, that's all."

"Bored huh?" a slithery voice interrupted. I rolled my eyes upon seeing Silver.

"I can make you feel more entertained Scar," Knuckles chuckled. He started rubbing my shoulders.

"Fuck off," I hissed.

"How are you honestly wearing that long sleeve shirt?" a girl asked joining in the conversation.

"None of your god damn business you skank."

"I heard it's cuz she's deformed," another girl speculated. I glanced at her breasts and wondered how much trouble I'd be in for cutting them up slowly.

"Aw come on guys, give Scar and I a break," Hiro intervened. "We literally just got into some shit with the Yama a few days ago."

"So you two were the ones at the gas station then," the first girl murmured.

"Well, that explains why you two losers weren't at the auto shop this week," Knuckles mused.

"That was us all right," Hiro bragged. "We took out a least a dozen Yama members at once." Hiro went off on a tangent that was completely fabricated with overexaggerated zeal. I took a sip of my beer and sighed, rubbing my fingers on my temple.

After about three more minutes of Hiro's lame-ass storytelling, I decided to leave. I went up the stairs of the hotel and climbed up to the roof. The music down below sounded faint up here. My feet led me to a ledge and I silently glanced down.

There were people walking down below. They were just tiny specs. Most of them probably had ordinary jobs, ordinary families and ordinary lives. What would it have been like to be one of them?

I turned my gaze over to my left where I had a bird's eye view of the pool. A sense of longing filled me up as I watched everyone down below. The gang was my job, my family, and my life but lately something was missing.

"Hold it there," a familiar voice said.

"What?" I asked narrowing my eyes at Hiro. He had followed me.

"Well strip," he ordered.

"What the fuck?" I hissed.

"You wanted a sex in hoe," he joked.

"Like hell," I spat in annoyance while he laughed. "Why did you follow me?"

"Because you're upset about what everyone down there was saying. You shouldn't let it get to you. People are going to talk shit now and then. It's no big deal."

"I'm not upset, if I was I would have smacked the shit out of blonde bitch down there."

"Very funny Suzume," he grinned.

"It is Hiro." I smiled.

He sipped on his drink. "All of this kind of makes you feel… what's the word? It's a fancy-ass word…"

"Nostalgic?"

"Yeah nostalgic."

"I guess so. Initiation made me think about my dad."

"You never told me much about him. Did he abandon you and your mom?"

"He didn't abandon us exactly," I sighed. "But I'm still not really ready to go into it all."

"Fair enough. Initiation made me think of how lonely and desperate I felt before joining Kalyuga. Now I'm swimming in a sea of bitches."

"That was so touching," I rolled my eyes. He sighed and I raised a brow.

"What's the sigh about?"

"My mom found out my phone number."

"Shit, how do you think she found out?"

"I have no fucking idea. She got dumped by her stupid husband so she wants me to let her move in."

"Mmm," I hummed. "So they divorced then?"

"Yeah… I'm not letting her stay with me. She abandoned me for that son of a bitch so she got what she deserved."

I threw my hands up, "That's your call. My mom and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of shit but in my culture family always comes first."

"Anyways, you wanna have some real fun?" he asked me.

"Not really," I replied in a bored tone.

"Pussy," he teased. He pointed to the next building. "Let's jump over."

"Are you nuts?" I questioned.

"If you don't come I'll leave you," he chuckled. He carefully used his hand to stand on the ledge, barely fitting. He threw himself into the air and he rolled onto the other rooftop. I swallowed as he gestured for me to do the same. I steadied myself into a standing position and looked down. The people below seemed to be continuing on as though I didn't matter. As I threw myself, a scream escaping my lips I knew I didn't matter, yet that didn't stop me. I landed on top of Hiro who laughed.

"You asshole."

He laughed and helped me up. "You seemed tense," he told me with a smirk.

"And jumping off a roof was the perfect solution?"

"Of course," he declared sticking his tongue out at me. I laughed at that, shaking my head. I spotted everyone else still drinking and partying and decided I preferred to leave.

"Let's get ice cream," I suggested, eager to eat some food.

"That actually sounds good," he grinned.

**Marianna Lorena Ouran Academy Friday, April 8th**

I clutched the fabric of my dress and glanced up at the enormous estate. "Come on Lorena-san, you don't want to be left behind," Aki-san told me.

"Sorry," I apologized. I scurried after her in my silver heels. I glanced around at all the elegant decore of the mansion. Upon entering there were tons of servants greeting guests.

"Good evening, may we please see your invitations?" a man said. I pulled out the invitation from my purse and held it out. He glanced over at Aki-san's invitation first and then glanced at mine. "Feel free to go on ahead ladies, keep it moving."

Aki-san grabbed my hand. "The Suoh mansion is really nice huh?"

"Yes, it is."

"The ball was held at the Ootori mansion during the 10th anniversary. Now let me tell you, _that _was big." I couldn't quite believe that. This place was huge already, how could you get much bigger?

"This is your first ball correct Lorena-san?" Aki-san's husband asked.

"Yes," I nodded to him.

"Wait up!" Seno-san called. We stopped at the top of the staircase and glanced down below. Seno-san and Mishi-san were walking up the steps, each of them had their arms wrapped around their husbands. I tried not to let my smile drop at this.

"Hello," Mishi-san smiled. "Lorena-san, this is my husband Aito." I shook his hand and we both bowed at each other.

"And this is my husband Hisato," Seno-san introduced me. He didn't shake my hand but merely nodded in my direction. I tried not to take offense at this action but I did feel a kick in the gut.

"Well, I'm ready to eat some delicious food," Aki-san announced. She led us through the hall and into the ballroom. There were people dancing in the middle and tables on the outside with food.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," Chairman Suoh said. I looked at the stage as the red curtains opened. "I welcome you to the 15th annual Ouran Academy Ball. I created Ouran Academy with the intention of giving my son and children in Japan a place to become successful young men and women in society. It is an honor to have our wonderful staff here at Ouran attending this evening along with our board members." Everyone clapped and the curtains were drawn.

My friends drifted to the dance floor and I decided to grab a plate and sample the food. I particularly liked the fancy tuna.

As I watched the couples dance I thought briefly for a moment about my high school prom. The dancing was much less sophisticated at my prom and was certainly less elegant. I grabbed my phone from my purse and saw that I had another missed call. I bit my lip and sighed.

I glanced across the hall and saw Mori and Honey. A small smile graced my lips. The two seniors were dancing together, spinning in circles, not caring about following the rhythm of the classical music playing.

When the song ended the two seniors were near me so I decided to greet them saying, "Hello boys, how are you both enjoying the ball?"

"Hi, Lorena-sensei! We're having lots of fun, right Takasi?" Honey grinned. He hugged his Usa-chan tightly to his chest.

"Ah," Mori grunted.

"That's good to hear."

"Takashi can you take Usa-chan to the bathroom," Honey told Mori. I tried not to choke on my food as I saw the tall boy take the stuffed bunny away. Honey gave me a warm smile and took a step towards me. I unconsciously took a step back and winced as my back hit the wall. "Are you okay Lorena-sensei?"

"Yes, that was just me being clumsy," I chuckled.

"Would you like to dance with me Lorena-sensei?"

"Umm… I don't really know how to dance Honey otherwise I would."

"That's okay." He grabbed my plate out of my hands and dragged me to the dance floor. For someone so tiny he had a lot of force. He placed my hands on his shoulders and his hands were on my waist. We swayed back and forth to the music playing and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I guess it's impossible for us to do a proper waltz," I commented to him.

"I can never really find a dance partner at these types of things considering my size." I nodded in understanding.

"Well, this is my first time at a ball," I confessed to change the subject slightly.

"So does that mean I'm your first dance?" Honey asked me. I couldn't help but smile at his excited face.

"I guess that does," I nodded. He cheered and lifted his arm to spin me. I took a moment to understand so I felt awkward when I finally did spin around. Luckily Honey didn't seem to mind and he kept eagerly swaying me back and forth.

When the music ended Honey bowed to me and I followed suit. He skipped away and I couldn't help but giggle. "There you are," Mishi-san said grabbing my arm. "All of our husbands decided to go for a drink so we decided to come and find you since you disappeared. I see you were dancing with Haninozuka Mitsukuni."

"Honey was in my class," Aki-san announced.

"Mine too," Seno-san chimed.

"He's so cute!" they both squealed together.

I laughed. "Yeah, he really is. He's also really helpful. He's always asking me what he can help me with"

"That's good to hear. He was always so serious but since starting high school I've noticed him become much happier," Seno-san observed.

"No one believes me but I think he is very mischevious deep down," Aki-san declared. "I've noticed how he's always gotten out of trouble by sweet-talking the staff."

"He's the farthest thing from mischevious. It's the Hitachiin twins that are getting into trouble non-stop," Seno-san disagreed.

"Well, it's sweet that you have a student who wants to dance with you," Mishi-san jumped in.

"We're all too old for that huh?" Seno-san laughed. Mishi-san and Aki-san joined in.

"Hello!" Chairman Suoh boomed interrupting us.

"Hello Chairman Suoh," we all said in sync.

"I'd like to dance with all my wonderful female staff at Ouran. Is it okay for me to take Lorena-san from you all for just a moment?" Chairman Suoh asked.

"Oh yes," Aki-san answered for everyone. "I'm sure she'd love to dance." I didn't have time to shoot Aki-san a glare before Chairman Suoh took my hand and led me to the dance floor. Unlike my dance with Honey, Chairman Suoh held me in a proper stance for a waltz. I struggled to follow his lead but somehow managed to stay upright. I stepped on his feet multiple times but he didn't comment on it.

"Have you had a chance to go through the file Lorena-san?"

"Yes, Chairman Suoh I have," I nodded nervously. I stepped on his foot again.

"And what do you think?"

"I thought you were giving me until Monday to decide."

"I am, but I'd just like to gauge how you feel."

"I think she's a very resilient young woman considering everything she's been through but I'm really not sure I'm the right person to mentor her."

"It's intrusive of me I know," Chairman Suoh began. "But I had one of my business partners, Ootori Yoshio, look into your past." My eyes widened in shock. "Of all the staff here at Ouran, you would best be able to understand her the most."

"Our situations are completely different," I protested. I took a deep breath to maintain my composure.

"Even though they are different, there are similarities in your struggles. Sanchez needs a strong positive female role model to help her invest in her future."

"I'll consider it and give you my final answer on Monday," I told him firmly. The song hadn't ended yet but Chairman Suoh loosened his grip on me. I took the opportunity to leave. Chairman Suoh immediately went back to where my friends were and took Mishi-san to the dance floor next. I moved towards the open balcony. There were a few couples there talking but there was some room in the right corner. I sat down on a chair and sighed.

Sanchez Suzume was someone who really needed a second chance but was I the right person to help her have one?

**Sylvia Sanchez (Suzume) - Yakazawa District Friday April 8th**

"_I understand why you didn't want to say anything, but it's the right thing to do." _I glanced down at the tape and sighed. Those words still bothered me even after three years.

"Suzume?" My mom walked into the living room. I jumped in surprise.

"I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow."

"Chairman Suoh saw me and told me to go back home. He was outraged that they had me working and staying at the mansion while it was your first week at school. That crotchety old head maid Yuha-san lied to me about my schedule."

"Are they finally going to fire her?"

"I doubt it."

"Too bad, I thought something interesting finally happened to you at work," I huffed. She laughed at that.

"What'cha got there?" she asked in English.

"A tape of the International Math and Science Competition that my teacher wants me to join."

"Wow, it's only your first week at Ouran and you're already involved in something. I told you that a different school would be good for you."

"I wouldn't get too excited, I never said I'd do the damn thing," I snarked.

"Did Tamaki show you around?"

"Yeah," I lied.

"Well don't keep me in suspense. Let's watch it." I bit back a retort and put the tape in our VCR.

**This is a recording for a private viewing of the 24th Annual International Math and Science Competition. Contestants come from all parts of the globe to be a part of this exciting adventure of math and scientific progress. **

The screen showed rows and lines of teams, with billboards, and gadgets, speaking with small groups of people, displaying their work. They were all so smart looking.

**In the math division, we have our top three teams. Ouran Academy (Japan) at third place, Reliance (U.S) and Xi's Academy for Boys (China). The deciding question was the following:**

**Derive the both Fundamental Theorems of Calculus and explain their connections to the original mathematician who created the theorem. **

My eyes bulged out of my head in shock. What kind of question was that? It was like history and math combined. I sighed as I watched Kyoya on the screen. He was so quick with his pencil, but the boy from Xi's academy beat him to it and held out his answer for the judges to evaluate. I shivered at the intensity from everyone. How could anyone spend time to learn random crap about some mathematician?

I watched as the previous rounds included applications from science, debates on the usefulness of certain formulas from all across the wide range of topics. My ears perked up when I heard them ask a question about cars. I answered it in my head easily, while the boys and girls from Reliance seemed to struggle.

"That's so easy," I scoffed.

"That one seemed pretty hard to me," my mom commented. I ignored her comment and kept my eyes glued to the screen. This competition seemed intriguing to say the least.

At the end of the video my mom looked to me and said, "I think you should do it Sylvia."

"I don't really know…"

"It's up to you. I already forced you into going to Ouran but I hope you know I did it so you could have a second chance. It's why I moved us here to Japan in the first place. All you have to do is take it mija."

"_...you didn't want to say anything, but it's the right thing to do." _I wished she had realized that people like me didn't deserve second chances.


End file.
